Rodentproof container



Sept. 14, 1937. o. E. Husa 2,093,109

u RoDENTPBooF CONTAINER Filed July 15, 1935 Patented Sept. 14, 1937 f 2,093,109,"'ffV l I l RoDENTPRooF CONTAINER` l Oscar E. Huse, Gorham Maine, '.assignorpfzpneA-f l half to John Sherman, AttlebormMass.

Application July 1'5, 1933, Serial No. 680,526

12 ciaims. A(o1. 22975@ In my presentY invention I present as a general subject matter that of paper,pulp or like bags,

sacks, Wrappers or containers having certain- V novel characteristics. More particularly, my concept runs to articles in whole or in part of paper or pulp fabricated with metallic strands by which I produce protection against rodent attack as well as an increase of strength in the A container. l0 In the manufacture of certain paper bags, veg'- etable fibres such as sisal have been fabricated in the paper from which the bags aremade. This was possible of accomplishment because of the general similarity in the vegetable bres used 15 and their ultimate association was therefore'relatively easy. The purpose of such reinforcement was that of strengthening the paper used for the bag. My primary concept herein is that of a rodent proof bag for flour or other cereals, a1- 'though as will hereinafter appear, containers in accordance with my invention have great strength, are moisture'Y proof and well adapted to widely varied uses. l

I have demonstrated that metallic strands systematically located in the weave of a cotton or like textile bag containing an edible grain, flour or cereal product Very successfully exclude rodents, and in factfdiscourage the gnawing as soon as the metal is encountered. s Where the relatively high cost of such woven bags is a serious factor in merchandising certain commodities, there has appeared an urgent need for a less expensive container of similar rodent Y proof character. My present invention contem- 35- plates novel containers fabricated in whole or in part from paper or other wood or like fibre material of low cost.

It has been well known to those skilled in prac- 40 tical paper manufacture that a metal fasteningV or like member tends to cut a contactingr paper sheet or to set up under fexation and strain disruptive tendencies, Such would be fatal in aY container such asa paper flour sack, for example,

because the slightest leakage is so wasteful`r as wto eral standard typebut' having wholly new and mostvaluable characteristics. l YThis illustrative embodiment isA to'be consid# ered only as illustrative and notV limiting,l as procedure and product may belandcf necessity may 5- be expected to be varied to meet the wide range) ofdemand. f Y" "f 'l n Inthedrawing: "Vf 1'- l '1 Y Fig. 1 is a' view of a sack with indicated armor strands; Fig.' 2 is ass'cl'iematicV edge view indicating the make up of my s'ackwith itsimpregnated pulp blanket with armor'strandsembedded in it.

Fig.v3 is a sectionalview of va-fragment of sack Wall showing the armor strands embeddedlongi'-' 157i' that its Wall structure includes ka metallic arma-A ment of fine wires 4. Y The surface sheets Ill: Yand'Y I2 of the container wall are vprotected against any internal cutting by the wires due to thefact that the wires areembedded in a fibrous blanketA Il interposed between the sheetsfllland I2. r 30 According to myinvention this fibrous investment Il ofthe armor strands #becomes an element of greatV importance. vBy making the fibre layer II of non-compacted structure 'and-'of a thickness sufcient to enclose the Wires, I am able tofully'embed thel strandsso that vthey are `held against'any cutting or disruptive action on` the adjacent sheet. This embedment ofV fibres is also preferably of absorbentV character and is made permanent by an .impregnation of-an as- 40 phaltic or like cemntitious character. vSo covered `andheld the armor strands 4 have'v no cutting effectl on theY surface vsheet or sheets. The impregnation serves also as a consolidating bond for -the'parts ofthe wall'membe'r and makes 4'5 the container practically impervious to moisture. Moreover, by mixing with the impregnation a deterrent' and/or toxic substance, I further pro-- tect the contents from rodent attack. f

The Wiresd in the side wall areas ofthe bag I 59- are closely parallel. In practice I nd that 30` gage copper Vwires spaced -fLg or 1/8 inch apart afford an armament'effective'to exclude even a persistent rodent. l Q In bag structures as'also in carton or like contffl tainer types, the systems of folds common to standard constructions are made by my concept to serve the novel function of providing at these important bottom or end areas a crossing of the parallel wires to effect a reticulation. This is of practical value for several reasons. It affords additional protection to areas exposed in stacking and storing. It also adds strength to the container in its load supporting function.

The Wall of the bag I may be made up as suggested in Fig. 2. The paper sheet or strips I0 and I2 are drawn from suitable rolls and assembled with or upon the fibre blanket I I. The bre investment II may be as before described anoncompacted sheet in which thestrands 4 are embedded or might be a layer of pulp of a depth sufii- Y cient to receive the strands 4. The bre ofthe blanket II may be low cost pulp so thatlthe expense of this element is slight.

As suggested schematically in Fig. 2,`the wire 4 may simply be presseddown, into therpulp blanket I I until it is encased by the pulp fibres or embedded in the bodyof -the layer II. Such a method is simple and eilicientand thewires pressA into the libre blanket and are bonded therein without any possibility of cutting or disruptingthe paper constituting the sheet I0.

The fibre or pulp blanket I I is impregnated with hot or emulsied asphalt or like'binder. The

blanket of fibre II being only thick enoughto/ safely embed thevwire strands 4 does ynot take'an undue amount; of 'the binder. It is, however, ab sorbent and easily permeated bythe binder so-as to form a complete anchoring' for the armor wires 4.

In practice the fibre blanket isimpregnated as as all parallel lengthwise ofY theindicated'bag.

Where desired a second set of wires may be added transversely of the vfirst-and spaced in like manner. The longitudinal wires can be run in continuously. Where transverse wires are used they may be drawn transversely-of the sheet by delivery jaws and cut off in successive steps. In some instances thelongitudi'nal` armor Wiresy may be supplemented by long fibres or twines transversely laid'to'lincrease the strengthV of theV container in that direction.

The fibre` or twine-used with or withoutthe binder may also be deposited on the metal armor strands either single, crossed or reticulated.

In all these forms the Wires 4' are cushioned and held by the blanket or lling of pulp against any cutting of the combined paper sheet and are held against pulling out, ravelling or dislodgement from their desired spacingby the impregnation.

The character of the bag walls may be varied by the kind vof binder used or the amount or proportion applied to the fibre. In this way the desired flexibility or stiffness can be controlled. Also, the impregnating gives afi-water or damp proof protection to the bag contents-as well as to the metal armor strands which are thus preserved against rusting or corrosion.

A very efficient impregnation may be made by admxing with asphalt powdered sulphur or sulphur base or so-called colloidal sulphur. This is offensive to rats and is an effective deterrent. In such a mix the tackiness may be increased by adding resin or resin oil to insure good ply adhesion in the container walls., Y

It is of the essence of my invention that the metallic elements employed shall armor the container, adding their own inherent qualities to the container without weakening the other structural velements thereof.

Hence as stated hereinbefore, means should be provided to seal or embed these metallic elements in a material absorbent enough to hold a sufficient quantity of the cementitious material and but containing no sizing or other lling material,`

iscreped, crinkled or embossed and then impregnatedfwith either a hot thermoplastic binder, such as melted asphalt, or an aqueous emulsion of' like nature. Impregnation may be `effected by passing the sheet of pulp into contactv with a hot rollerY smearedv with melted asphalt or ay roller smeared with emulsied asphalt or the like. Y

The pulp isvthus caused to take up an amount of the impregnant which may weigh on an air dry basis to 150%V of the weight of the pulp itself. Thepulp having had its effective bulk materially increased by` creping or the like treatment is so much the more receptive of the impregnant and (both by reason of its bulk and of the asphalt now associated with it) so'much.

the better able to serve as a bed for the wires. If wires of .005" diameter are used, the uncreped pulp sheet may be initially of .004#l thickness andof .007 general thickness after being creped and impregnated.

If I impregnate this pulp sheet with an emulsied asphalt I letit become'substantially free from water before utilizing it, at which stage it is sufliciently plastic and tacky to serve myl purpose. If I employ a hot (melted) asphalt, I use it while still molten. If now upon such pulp sheet I now run my wires of .005 diameter it is obvious that these wires may be forced as by the pressure of rollers not only to enter the surface of the sheet but to become deeply embedded in it so that none of the wire remains protruding above the surface.

With a sheet of (e. g.) .007 thickness wires of the stated diameter do not cut through the sheet ory materially impair it, since at the momentv ofmeeting the wires the sheet is highly plastic. f

When now this sheet with the wires positioned upon it, meets the surfacing elements of my invention these elements `being relatively non-plastic may be pressed upon pulp-sheet and wires firmly enough. to bond the structure together and to. sink the wires completely into the mass of the pulp sheetfwhileretaining the adhesive surfaces thereof in a substantially uninterrupted area` forl contact with thev surfacing elements.

The specifications just recorded are useful When'I use round wires, but if I use strands of metal such as result from rolling a Wire to partly flatten it, then obviously the total thickness 0f the pulp sheet may accordingly be less, and less material thus consumed.

Moreover, with atted wires I may secure a more effective armoring of the container.

Within the limits of my claims the practice of my invention may be and will be varied by the manufacturer according to his preferences for procedure and the kind of article he is producing. q

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent isz- 1. A container consisting of a sheet fabricated to form its sides and bottom walls and comprising inner and outer layers and a bre pulp layer conned therebetween and metal strands embedded in said pulp layer and disposed in spaced relation vertically of the bag, and a thermoplastic binder sealing said strands in the libre layer and bonding said layers to each other.

2. A rodent proof paper container including in its wall structure parallel metal strands in relatively close disposition and extending longitudinally of the container in strengthening and protecting relation to the container and its contents and a softer brous layer into Which said strands are embedded and conned, and a thermoplastic binder sealing said strands in said fibrous layer.

3. A container comprising a Wall member including an external paper sheet, a blanket layer of absorbent libre, and a metallic reinforcement embedded therein, said blanket layer being impregnated with an asphaltic binder in sealing relation to the metallic reinforcement Within the bre blanket.

4. A rodent proof container consisting of wall members, said Walls comprising a paper layer, a plurality of metallic strands in rodent proof disposition, a pre-fabricated relatively highly absorbent bre layer, and an asphaltic binder absorbed into the libres and compacted to effect an embedding of said strands into said bre layer and out of cutting relation to said paper layer.

5. A rodent proof bag consisting of a tubular member having a bottom and side walls, said member comprising a paper layer, a plurality of metallic strands, a pre-fabricated relatively highly absorbent fibre layer, and an asphaltic saturation to bre satisfaction and compacted whereby said strands enter said bre layer and are out of cutting relation to said paper layer and in strengthening relation thereto.

6. A rodent proof container consisting of bottom and side Walls, said Walls comprising a paper layer, and a layer of relatively7 absorbent material, and a plurality of metallic strands, and anv asphaltic binder retentive of said metallic strands into said relatively absorbent libre and to cementitiously unite said paper layer and said fibre layer whereby a iiexible container Wall is provided in which said metallic strands are prevented from cutting said paper layer.

7. A container comprising a Wall member consisting of a cushioning layer of uncompacted soft brous absorptive material, a plurality of metallic strands embedded in said absorptive material, said strands bonded in said absorptive material by an impregnation of said material with an adherent Waterproof substance, a paper covering Ysheet being sealed to said cushioning layer by said adherent Waterproof substance.

8. A container comprising a Wallmember consisting of a cushioning layer of uncompacted soft fibrous absorptive material, a plurality of metallic strands disposed in spaced parallel relation longitudinally of the bag and embedded in said absorptive material, said strands bonded in said absorptive material by an impregnation of said material with anadherent Waterproof substance, a paper covering sheet being sealed to said cushioning layer by said adherent waterproof substance.

9. A container comprising a wall member consisting of a cushioning layer of uncompacted soft fibrous absorptive material, a plurality of metallic strands embedded in said absorptive material, said strands bonded in said absorptive material by an impregnation of said material With an adherent waterproof substance, paper covering sheets being sealed to said cushioning layer by said adherent Waterproof substance.

l0. A container comprising a Wall member of a material including a cover sheet, a cushioning layer of soft brcus absorptive material, a plurality of metallic strands embedded in said absorptive material, and an adherent Waterproof substance impregnating said absorptive material sealing said strands therein and binding said cover layer to said cushioning layer.

ll. A container comprising a Wall member of a material including a cushioning layer of soft fibrous absorptive material, a plurality of metallic strands embedded in said absorptive material, an adherent Waterproof substance impregnating said absorptive material and sealing said strands therein.

l2. A container comprising a Wall member of a material including a cushioning layer of flexible,

OSCAR E'. HUSE. 

